A friend and I have been doing a RP for a while now, and it has been scattered across several threads on two different sites. It started as a group story (about fast food of all things ) but then it transformed into something else entirely.

 

We request that nobody join in this RP or post anything on this thread; if you wanna say how awesome we are, message us some other way.

 

Um...You're free to read this for fun if you want to, but this thread has major Birth By Sleep spoilers. And since we've been doing this for a while, we will probably refer to things we've done in the past and you will have no idea what we're talking about. So if you want to save yourself from confusion, then you probably wanna stay away. If not, hey, whatever.

 

The plot was discussed and posted on another website, but here's a quick summary of the whole thing: It's the return of Xehanort.

 

Characters:

Peanut: Sora, Namine, Leon, Aerith, King Mickey, Terra, Ventus, Xehanort, etc.

Forever Love: Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Yuffie, Aqua, Vanitus, Tron, etc.

 

I believe I've said everything that needs to be said...Forever Love, let's get this show on the road, eh?

Serah didn't know what could possibly cheer Lightning up after everything. The first thing she thought of was what Lightning used to do for her when she was little: brush her hair. Serah went to the back and retrieved a hairbrush before standing behind the couch, gently grasping Lightning's hair and laying it out over the couch before she began to brush it. 

 

Serah didn't see it, but Lightning's eyes shot open when she realized what Serah was doing. Obviously Serah didn't remember it, but she brushed Lightning's hair in Valhalla when she was upset. The motion brought back all those memories, and as much as Lightning wanted Serah to not be alarmed or hurt, she couldn't take this. "No, Serah," she said quietly, taking her hair back and draping it over her shoulder. I'm sorry, but no.

Riku looked from Lightning to Serah and then back again. He couldn't figure out right then what that was about, but he would let it go. Clearly Lightning just didn't want to be touched, or so he figured. Because of that, he leaned back to give her space, also looking up at Serah. What could they say?

"I'm sorry," Lightning recovered, seeing Serah's confused and hurt expression when she looked back at her. "I'm fine. I just..." She couldn't explain it to Serah; she didn't know about Valhalla and all that happened there. She would be kept in the dark forever as long as she had a say in it. "I think I'll just go to bed." It was a lie, but hopefully it would get rid of Snow and Serah. As long as they were here, they would worry about her.

Snow knew what that meant: it was their cue to go. "Serah..." he called softly from his spot in the room. "...We should go." She didn't want to be anywhere near him right now, and he understood that, but Lightning didn't want company. They had to respect that after what just happened with Gadot. Or at least Snow did, since it was partially his fault.

Serah frowned. Lightning always did this. Whenever she was vulnerable or making people worry, she tried to get them to leave her presence. But now wasn't a time to scold her for that. She walked around the couch and gave Lightning a kiss on the top of her pink hair before smoothing the spot out and sending Riku a look. "Don't leave her alone," she ordered. Lightning would probably try to get rid of him too, but he couldn't give in.

Riku looked up at the youngest Farron. "Didn't plan to," he told her lowly. He was staying with Lightning, after everything. Valhalla, Snow, Gadot... He wasn't leaving her side for a while, and a part of him feared she wouldn't be okay with that. Smothering never pleased her.

Lightning watched Serah nod to Riku, give her one more look of frustration, and then head out the door with Snow. Of course as soon as she was gone, Lightning leaned her head back against the couch, shut her eyes, and sighed. Great, now Serah was more worried than she was before. Lightning was supposed to be taking care of her, not the other way around.

Riku watched as Snow closed the door, but then his eyes found the love of his life. The one who got hurt multiple times today. He wordlessly moved a hand to rest on her stomach, willing a Cure spell to spread over the area Gadot punched. His hand glowed green as the healing powers took effect. Hopefully this would help some.

Lightning was grateful for the cure spell and how it took away the pain, but even with her eyes closed, she could feel the concern radiating off Riku's body. She opened her eyes and looked over at him, keeping her head against the back of the couch. "Don't worry so much," she said softly. "I'm fine..." Gadot's punch was the only thing that hit her hard; his words were mostly just talk.

"I can't help it," Riku said then, keeping his hand on Lightning's stomach. He lifted his gaze from that to her face, trying to forget the way she looked when Gadot knocked the wind out of her. "...I promised to protect you, and then you get hit...twice." His promise was a joke.

"I was blocking you from stopping Gadot," Lightning offered. "And I baited Snow to hit me to make a point." There wasn't anything that Riku could have done for either situation. The blame didn't rest on him for anything that happened. She would have been crazy to hold him responsible for anything.

"You shouldn't have stepped in front of me," Riku said, frowning when he could see the bruise on Lightning's face from Snow. He lifted his hand from her stomach to cup her face, doing it gently as he called to another spell. "Never try to protect me like that, okay? I could've handled it." True, Riku was buff and Gadot was stacked compared to him, but he had agility on his side; he could have saved his own skin.

"I was trying to restrain you, not protect you," Lightning said in her own defense, briefly shutting her eyes at the soothing spell. Riku didn't need to be protected in that situation, because Gadot wasn't after him at all. He was only after Lightning, and for that reason, she kept Riku behind her so that he wouldn't hit Gadot and cause a bigger fuss.

"That didn't do a lot of good," Riku murmured, mostly to himself as he kept his hand in place. He ran his thumb over where the bruise used to be, sighing. "You know I'm protective, especially of you. That guy was... He said that you..." Riku took his hand away, lowering his gaze. "Look, it was instinct to want to protect you from that. Maybe it wouldn't have made things any better, but that restraint got you hurt. I'm not okay with that, ever."

"I know you're not," Lightning agreed softly. Riku never wanted her to be in pain, even if that was sometimes the best way to resolve a situation. "I appreciate how you want to protect me physically and emotionally, but Gadot didn't say much to get to me. It wasn't worth letting you beat him up." He ticked her off plenty with his arrogance and accusations, but she knew the majority of what he said wasn't true. 

"He upset me," Riku said in his own defense. Everything Gadot said, from "abandoning Serah" to saying that she didn't deserve her family... It ticked Riku off to no end. The next time Riku saw Gadot, if he saw him at all, it wouldn't be a pleasant encounter.

Lightning shook her head softly, setting her hand on Riku's stomach gently before she ran it over his skin. "People are going to have opinions that aren't true," she said. "I'm sad someone connected to Snow and Serah dislikes me that much and has a warped view of me like that, but that's just how it is sometimes." There was no point in letting his words upset anyone. She was flattered that Riku was offended by those lies for her sake, but it wasn't necessary. 

Riku snorted as he looked away, taking in the feeling of Light's hand on his bare stomach. "He's warped alright," he said in agreement. Riku had never even met Gadot before now, and he sure didn't want to get to know him after today. He wasn't worth knowing.

Lightning continued rubbing Riku's skin, though she was cautious because she knew his was ticklish. Laughter would have been nice right now, but she didn't want forced laughter.She wanted Riku to naturally be happy again, along with everyone else on the beach. Riku probably should leave and say bye to them...

Riku only let a small minute pass before he stopped Lightning's hand with his own. He didn't feel like laughing, not after what just recently happened to his girlfriend. "...You sure you're okay?" he asked lowly, linking his fingers with hers as he gazed in her direction. The last thing he wanted was for her to lie to him.

Lightning looked down at their hands, her fingers interwoven with his. "I'm fine," she said quietly. "A little upset that the fights nearly spoiled the day, but..." She lifted her eyes and met Riku's, being sincere. "I had a great day today, being along with everyone and being happy." And she hoped that everyone else felt the same way.

That sincerity had Riku smiling faintly. He lifted Light's hand to his lips and placed a brief kiss there before lowering it back to his lap. "Apart from the downsides, this is a new beginning," he told her. The two of them would get their happy ending, soon.

Lightning smiled, nodding faintly in agreement. "Any future is better than Valhalla," she agreed. The only way that Valhalla could have gotten worse was if Riku died. But he wasn't going to die, not while she was still with him. Besides, the major threats to the worlds were gone. Xehanort was defeated and so was Bhunivelze and the gods that sided with him. There was still hardship before them, but with all they conquered already, they could handle anything life threw at them.

Riku's smile remained as he squeezed Lightning's hand. "I'll make sure of that," he told her, promising a brighter future. All he wanted, after the year in Darkness and the many years of suffering through it (even beside his friends), was happiness. Lightning gave him plenty, but he knew that they had a very bright future ahead of them if they were together. Riku was going to keep it that way.

"Not alone, you won't," Lightning said, placing her head on Riku's shoulder. The future wasn't just dependent on him. She was going to work her hardest to make it a bright future too. For the past year of her life, that was what she did... It was crazy to think that to her, over a year passed since this all started, but for everyone else, it was a few weeks. It had been over a year since she was truly free to be happy, or at peace, or safe.